21 Jan Is ESP For Real?

Ever since the beginning of recorded history, there seems to have been a belief in Extra Sensory Perception, or ESP. ESP is normally defined as the reception of information through a means other than the five normal senses; hearing, feeling, smelling, seeing, or tasting.

Even in Biblical times, apparently there were people who seemed to be able to predict the future, and were known as prophets. Later, in the Dark, and Middle Ages, they were known as magi, witches and diviners. As might be expected, ESP seemed to wane somewhat during the Inquisition, but returned in the 19th Century in the form of mediums, and in the 21st century, they have expanded into psychics, psychic detectives, remote viewers, and more.

Supposedly, there are several different forms of ESP:

Telepathy – the transfer of information directly from one mind to another. One of the most famous telepaths in modern times has been the USSR’s Wolf Messing. The famous Vulcan Mind-Meld of Star Trek operates on this principle.

Clairvoyance – the ability to gain information about a person, place, or thing, in a manner other than through the 5 known senses. Peter Hurkos, who supposedly assisted in the 1930s Lindbergh Kidnapping case (actually, the perp, Bruno Hauptman, was caught by tracing one of the ransom Gold Certificates) is one of the most famous.

Remote Viewing – getting ‘impressions’ about an unseen target through means other than the 5 senses. Edgar Cayce was one of the most famous remote viewers.

Precognition – receiving information about a future event that cannot be deduced from presently available information, through the 5 senses, or the laws of physics and nature. In modern times, Jean Dixon was one of the most famous. Nostradamus was another famous predictor.

Retrocognition – knowledge of a past event that could not have been acquired through normal means.

Telekinesis – the ability to move objects with only the influence of the mind. Uri Geller is one of the most famous people with this ability in modern times.

Pyrokinesis – the ability to start, and control fires with the mind. This was the subject of the Stephen King novel Firestarter.

With all of the ‘professional psychic’s in the world today, you might think that this may really be legitimate. But if you examine what these so-called physics really accomplish, you get a different picture. The famous psychics like Jean Dixon, and Peter Hurkos made themselves famous by predicting the events after they happened. After every assassination, and natural disaster, these ‘psychics show up and tell everyone “I predicted this would happen….” It would be nice if they could tell someone before the event. Most psychic predictions are very vague, with little detail, and for a very good reason. They can tailor them to fit whatever happens after the fact. And the psychics that supposedly help the police solve crimes…..well, if you check police records, you will never find any contributions from these people. And no court would allow any psychic evidence to be introduced during trial. Uri Geller was exposed as a fraud more times than I can count. Yet, it seems that 50% of people still believe in ESP.

It may startle you to know that both the U.S. military, and the CIA have spent billions of dollars experimenting with ESP. Especially during the Cold War, experiments were conducted to create psychic spies, and to locate submarines using ESP. The experiments were consistent in one area…they were all dismal failures. In the civilian world, no reputable experiments have demonstrated any ESP ability in humans. In fact, a professional magician and famous skeptic, The Amazing Randi, since 1964, has offered a reward to anyone who can demonstrate any paranormal ability under agreed-upon controlled conditions. The prize money has grown over the years, and now it is sitting at $1,000,000.00. Similar rewards were offered by Harry Houdini, and John Nevil. To date, none of the prizes have ever been claimed. If you think about it, someone who could predict the future, or influence physical objects with their mind ought to be filthy-rich, from taking the slots in Vegas by storm, to winning bets on sporting events, and even investing in stocks. But most ‘psychics’ are financially modest. The ones that did get famous did it by just writing about their supposed abilities.

The nail in the coffin for me was a recent study done at Cambridge University (Wiseman, R., West, D., & Stemman, R. (1996). An experimental test of psychic detection. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 61(842), 34-45), and another by Harvard University (Using Neuroimaging to Resolve the Psi Debate -Samuel T. Moulton, Stephen M. Kosslyn; Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience January 2008, Vol. 20, No. 1: 182–192.) using neuroimaging technology to detect ESP activity in the brain. In both studies, there was no evidence that there is anything other than normal brain activity at work. And, as of yet, no legitimate experiment has ever shown any evidence of ESP ability in anyone.

The consensus is that most documented instances of ESP ability can be attributed to the normal senses operating on a sub-conscious level. In other words, sensing subtle smells, sounds, observing eye expressions and body postures, and picking up on other sub-conscious ‘cues’ inadvertently given by others. The human mind is a complex system that we are only beginning to really understand.
So, next time you feel like spending your hard-earned money on a psychic, I can save you the trouble, and tell you how to double your money right now…..fold it in half, and put it back in your pocket.

5 Comments

Although I am not a believer in ESP I am most certainly a believer in heightened awareness. No, I cannot predict the future but I can read people. I can tell when they are lying to me. I can sense when something is about to happen or that someone close to me is in trouble. Enough so that they know I will call and they know They will have to tell me the truth. I have made enough calls that even my mom would say,” I have been waiting on you to contact me” when she had an accident or was ill. I have a sense about death as well. I knew the day my husband died that he would and he knew it too even though we had gone shopping that morning and he was as usual happy and active. I knew that my grandson, even though the doctors kept saying he would not survive, would in fact come home and he did. recently I knew that my ex daughter-in-law’s mom would not survive her hospital stay and I pushed the girl to get wills signed and things in order without ever telling her what I felt. I am rarely wrong and I hate it. I have no idea where the feelings come from. perhaps as you say just a closeness to family or a deep unconscious awareness of small signs. My mother was the same way although she did read cards, something that I hold no real belief in. No I do not listen to psychics, but I do not believe that some of us are not more adept than others at knowing things we should not really know.. It is not always a good thing but it is helpful in many instances.

Maurice Keels

ESP is Absolutely Real. I have on Numerous Occasions experienced Precognition. My Precognitive experiences occurred via Lucid
Dream States. Precognitive experiences are for the most part uncontrollable, but on two occasions in my lifetime I have through suggestion, experienced Precognitive Lottery numbers that have actually come out. On one such occasion, both myself and a neighbor, dreamed the exact same number 125, that came out the same night. I won $1580, he won $80.

For the naysayers who say that ESP does not exist, only say that because they have never experienced the phenomenon themselves. For individuals such as myself and others, we Know for a Fact that ESP IS REAL!

Maurice Keels

I have witnesses who can attest to the fact that I gave them lottery numbers that I dreamed that actually came out. I have also been the recipient of lottery numbers that other people have dreamed that have come out. Science is limited and evolving. If Christopher Columbus had listened to the scientist of his day he would not have discovered America because narrow minded thinkers thought the world was flat.